Jolabokaflod

{Subtitled: An Overly Bookish Post}

(Unrelated to the post, but we were tickled pink to find this "Traveling Santa" on our porch tonight.  Watch out -- your porch might be next!  Hahaha.)

Last Christmas season, I read about the most AMAZING Icelandic tradition EVER -- the Jolabokaflod.  In this cultural phenomenon, books are exchanged on Christmas Eve as gifts and then the rest of the evening is spent reading!  I'm pretty much in love with this idea.  Hahaha.  So much so, that I've convinced my kids that we're going to adopt this tradition starting this year!  Usually Santa brings them a book for one of their 3 gifts, but this year I told them that I want to do the giving on Christmas Eve.  And to make things even MORE exciting, I told the kids that for their Christmas present to ME this year {although -- to be clear -- they typically don't give me any presents at all}, I want each of them to choose a book for me that they think I would like.  I can't wait.  This is going to be the best Jolabokaflod ever!!  Hahaha.

So, to round out this post, I thought I'd give some book ideas to others who may want to adopt this tradition, too.  :)

5-Star Reads

So, I took a few minutes to look over my Goodreads reviews for the year, and I was kind of surprised to realize that I only read two books this year that qualified as 5 stars for me.  So, I went back a few more years and realized that apparently I don't give out a whole lot of 5 stars.  Hahaha.  And pretty much all of my 5 star reviews belong to non-fiction.  There are a few outliers, but I guess it takes a lot for fiction to blow me away.  Here are a few of the books I loved the most over the last couple of years...

"The compelling, inspiring, and comically sublime New York Times bestseller about one man’s coming-of-age, set during the twilight of apartheid and the tumultuous days of freedom that followed."

"An unforgettable memoir in the tradition of The Glass Castle about a young girl who, kept out of school, leaves her survivalist family and goes on to earn a PhD from Cambridge University."

"The incredible true story of the women who fought America's Undark danger."

"Hamilton: The Revolution gives readers an unprecedented view of both revolutions, from the only two writers able to provide it. Miranda and Jeremy McCarter, a cultural critic and theater artist who was involved in the project from its earliest stages--"since before this was even a show," according to Miranda--trace its development from an improbable perfor­mance at the White House to its landmark opening night on Broadway six years later. In addition, Miranda has written more than 200 funny, revealing footnotes for his award-winning libretto, the full text of which is published here."

"Pioneer Girl follows the Ingalls family's journey through Kansas, Missouri, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, back to Minnesota, and on to Dakota Territory sixteen years of travels, unforgettable experiences, and the everyday people who became immortal through Wilder's fiction. Using additional manuscripts, letters, photographs, newspapers, and other sources, award-winning Wilder biographer Pamela Smith Hill adds valuable context and leads readers through Wilder's growth as a writer."

"Telling an unforgettable story of a man's journey into extremity, Unbroken is a testament to the resilience of the human mind, body, and spirit."

"We've all been there-angry with ourselves for overeating, for our lack of willpower, for failing at yet another diet that was supposed to be the last one. But the problem is not you, it's that dieting, with its emphasis on rules and regulations, has stopped you from listening to your body. "

"From the highly acclaimed, multiple award-winning Anthony Doerr, the stunningly beautiful instant New York Times bestseller about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II."

"Born with a terrible facial abnormality, Auggie has been home-schooled by his parents his whole life, in an attempt to protect him from the cruelty of the outside world. Now, for the first time, he's being sent to a real school - and he's dreading it. All he wants is to be accepted - but can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, underneath it all?"

Memoir

Over the last year, I've discovered that memoir is kind of my favorite genre.  Or at least, well-written and interesting memoir.  ;)  A lot of the above 5 stars are memoir, but here are a few more that I really enjoyed...

"The Wondering Years is a hilarious look back at the key influences that shaped Knox’s formative years and his faith, a reminder of our own encounters with pop culture that have shaped each of our formative years and continue to influence us today."

"A stunning memoir about a childhood spent growing up in a family of extreme hoarders and hiding squalor behind the veneer of a perfect family. Kim Miller is an immaculately put-together woman with a great career, a loving boyfriend, and a beautifully tidy apartment in Brooklyn. You would never guess that she spent her childhood hiding behind the closed doors of her family’s idyllic Long Island house, navigating between teetering stacks of aging newspaper, broken computers, and boxes upon boxes of unused junk festering in every room—the product of her father’s painful and unending struggle with hoarding."

"Hillbilly Elegy is a passionate and personal analysis of a culture in crisis—that of white working-class Americans. The decline of this group, a demographic of our country that has been slowly disintegrating over forty years, has been reported on with growing frequency and alarm, but has never before been written about as searingly from the inside. J. D. Vance tells the true story of what a social, regional, and class decline feels like when you were born with it hung around your neck."

"A breakout teen author explores the true meaning of popularity and how to survive middle school in this hysterically funny, touchingly honest contemporary memoir."

Children's Books

Middle grade fiction is one of my favorites.  Mostly because they're usually quick and easy to read, and when they're written well, they can teach so many poignant life lessons.  Picture books/board books are another love of mine, and I especially enjoy when the story and the illustrations are both top notch.  Here are a few of my favorite children's books...

I love this book.  It's my favorite by Andrew Clements.

I love Roald Dahl -- his books are such classics, and my kids have all enjoyed them as well.  Matilda is one of our favorites -- as well as one of the only audiobooks I've ever been able to listen to because it was narrated so fantastically by Kate Winslet. (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is another winner from Roald Dahl.)


There aren't enough words to capture how much I adore Anne-with-an-E.  This was probably my favorite book growing up, and I went on to read the whole series.  I loved them all as a child, but in my mind, it's the first book that stands the test of time. 


Shannon Hale is a wonderful author, and The Goose Girl is one of my favorites of hers.


I love all Kevin Henkes picture books, but this one was the first one I ever read, so it holds a special place in my heart.  :)

Mary Engelbreit is another one of our favorite author/illustrators.   This Mother Goose nursery rhymes collection was Jane's absolute favorite as a toddler.

These adorable little board books are one of Isaac's favorites right now.  They're kind of the perfect toddler books -- engaging pictures and not too many words per page.  ;)

And that's going to be a wrap!  I doubt anyone is interested in seeing anymore book blurbs from yours truly.  ;)  If you're interested in actual KID opinions, however, you can look back over the last couple of years of "Summer Reading Challenge" reads from my children.  (Summer Reading 2017 and Summer Reading 2016.  Summer Reading 2018 was a bit of a bust in case you were wondering.  Hahaha.)